Body Parts in Idiom Trivia

1. The expression "hand in hand" is straightforward. It means with hands joined or clasped, as in "walking hand in hand." But "hand in glove" is a figurative expression. What does "hand in glove" mean?

From Quiz Give Me a Hand

Answer: In cahoots, conspiratorial

It would be awkward to be caught with a hand in a car's glove compartment, but the situation has not passed into the language as a common expression. There is something similar though - to be caught with one's hand in the cookie jar, which means to be caught pilfering. Neither to be dressed like a boxer nor to be wearing only one glove has any particular significance that I know of.

From Quiz Funny Bone

Answer: Because of the "funny" or strange prickling sensation that occurs when one bumps the elbow

While some have speculated that "funny bone" is a pun on the word "humerus", the medical term for the long bone in a human's upper arm, most scholars now suspect this explanation to be in error. The term "funny bone" seems to have grown out of the culture of common folk who would not have been readily familiar with the term "humerus", and while "humorous" does mean "funny", most people do not find any humor in hitting their funny bones. Rather, the "funny" in "funny bone" seems to be more connected with another meaning of the word "funny"--"strange" or "weird". Often, when people hit their funny bones, they experience a strange or weird tingling sensation culminating in their hands, and sometimes the sensation is closer to a burning sensation or even pain. Again, this is certainly not humorous. Interestingly, the whole idea of the source of this misery coming from hitting a bone is also erroneous. The sensation people feel comes from hitting the ulnar nerve, which passes near the back of the elbow, and pressing it against the bottom end of the humerus.

From Quiz Lovers' Eyes

Answer: Dry

These words were spoken when Benedick and Beatrice admitted their love for each other in Act 4 Scene 1 of the Shakespeare play, "Much Ado About Nothing". The end of many plays, books and films feature at least one scene that brings us happy tears so that there is not a dry eye left in the house.

From Quiz It's in Your Mind or Your Face

Answer: mind

Something which is imaginary can be said to be all in your mind. This is often used to comfort small children who are afraid of intangible dangers, such as a bogeyman. Of course, the phrase can also be used sarcastically about someone who thinks they are more important than they are - their significance is said to be all in their own mind.

From Quiz All About Hands

Answer: bird

There were several variations of this proverb, such as, "A byrd in hand - is worth ten flye at large" (about 1530) and "Better one byrde in hande than ten in the wood" (about 1546). "The Bird in Hand" has been the name of pubs over a long period of time. There are two additional nuances in this phrase--1) "bird" could refer to a falcon in medieval falconry, and 2) bird could be another way of referring to a girl or a woman. Obviously, the phrase refers to the fact that it's better to actually have one thing than to be thinking of what it could be like to have two or three or four.

From Quiz All About Heart

Answer: heartless

"Heartless" is of course a person without a heart, without the powers of empathy. "Downhearted" is to be down in the dumps. "Hearty" refers to something substantial or energetic like a hearty meal or a hearty person, able to deal with life's problems in an upbeat way. "Lionhearted" applies to a person of extraordinary courage. Richard I of England was known as Richard the Lionheart or Coeur de Lion because of his valor and strength.

From Quiz Straight from the Heart

Answer: Sleeve

This idiom could have started at medieval jousting tournaments, where knights wore the colours of the lady they were supporting on their arm. However, there is no direct evidence to support this. The earliest use of the phrase "wear my heart on my sleeve" comes from Shakespeare's "Othello", in 1604. Iago: "For when my outward action doth demonstrate The native act and figure of my heart In compliment extern, 'tis not long after But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve For daws to peck at: I am not what I am."

From Quiz Body Language

Answer: eyes

From Quiz Give Me a Hand

Answer: A worker/laborer

The practice of referring to factory or mill workers as hands goes back at least as far as Charles Dickens' 1854 novel "Hard Times". The practice of calling a worker a hand can also be seen in the shipboard order, "All hands on deck!"

From Quiz Lovers' Eyes

Answer: Beauty

Princess Fiona featured in the "Shrek" movie franchise. Plucky, courageous and feisty, she was also an ugly green ogress with pointy ears and short, stout body. This did not matter one iota to Shrek. People who see an ugly face must instead look at their true nature underneath, to find that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

From Quiz The Cold Shoulder

Answer: a leg

If you buy something excessively expensive, it is said to cost an arm and a leg. The phrase is said to date back to the First World War when soldiers paid a high price to their country by losing one or more limbs in combat.

From Quiz It's in Your Mind or Your Face

Answer: face

Facebook was set up in 2004 as a networking site for students at Harvard University, but it rapidly expanded to have over 900 million users in May 2012. Along with other social sites such as Myspace, it has revolutionized the way people stay in touch with each other, since it can be accessed from mobile phones virtually anywhere and anytime, making quick and low-cost contact easy. On the other hand, it has been the source of a number of incidents involving posting of malicious or embarrassing information.

From Quiz Can You 'Face' The Truth?

Answer: face the music

Having to own up to your mistakes is the meaning of this idiom, but its origin is unclear. One theory is being 'drummed' out of a military group. Another possible source is a reference to an actor facing the orchestra (as suggested in the question), and having to accept the consequences of his or her performance in terms of the audience's response.

From Quiz All About Hands

Answer: Time

"Time on My Hands" has been a hit song in the 1930s, John Schofield's album, an incident in "Dad's Army," a famous British comedy, a scene from "Rocky and Bullwinkle," and, in 1932, an animated film. Peter Delacorte wrote a 1997 time-travel novel with this title, hypothesizing what might have happened if Ronald Reagan had not been President. It focused on the 1930s in Hollywood where Reagan had been in the movie world. Bryan Ferry performed "Time on My Hands." The song appeared on "As Time Goes By" in 1997.

From Quiz All About Heart

Answer: heart-stricken

"Heart-stricken" refers to someone being completely, stunningly overcome by feeling. "Feeble Hearted" implies being weak of heart in a physical sense. "Half-hearted" is to be rather unemotional. "Free-hearted" is to give of love and of your heart openly and often.

From Quiz Straight from the Heart

Answer: The Bible

A man after my own heart refers to a kindred spirit, someone who thinks and feels the same way you do. The Bible (King James version) is the first publication to use it. From Samuel 13:14 "But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee".

From Quiz Body Language

Answer: mouth

From Quiz Give Me a Hand

Answer: Bananas

Grapes come in bunches, but only bananas come in hands as far as I know. If you look at a bunch of them, it is easy to see why the term "hand" might be applied.

From Quiz Lovers' Eyes

Answer: Stars

"Pride and Prejudice" was the novel written by Jane Austen and first published in 1813. It took a long time for Elizabeth and Darcy to throw away both pride and prejudice and admit their love for each other. To have "stars in your eyes" is to be enraptured or dazzled by something or someone.

From Quiz It's in Your Mind or Your Face

Answer: mind

The origin of this phrase, used to remind one to be on one's best behavior, is obscure. As is so often the case, there are multiple sources which are definitively cited by different authorities. One of them has to do with printers' assistants in the early days of moveable type, who needed to pay close attention to the p and q pieces of type, which were in adjacent boxes and looked very much like one another, so were easy to confuse. Another relates to chalking up accounts in pubs, where a pint was shown by the letter p, and a quart by the letter q - reversing them would make a significant difference in the amount owed!

From Quiz All About Hands

Answer: left

This comes from the Bible, Matthew 6:3-4. It is interpreted generally this way. Good deeds should not be done in a way which calls attention to them. Good deeds should be done sometimes secretly, even "so that your alms may be done in secret." Sometimes the phrase begins, "when you give to the needy ..." (or "to the poor"). Overall, it is a phrase which reminds people to not become too vain and consumed by their sense of their own glory, in short to "not sound a trumpet before you."

From Quiz All About Heart

Answer: heartfelt

"Heartfelt" connotes a feeling that is genuine, sincere and open. "Disheartened" is to lose enthusiasm for a project. "Faint-hearted" is to have a kind of tepid emotional system. "Iron-hearted" is to be cruel and unfeeling.

From Quiz Straight from the Heart

Answer: Heart of stone

This term is derived from the Old English "stoany-harted". It was first recorded in 1569 by Thomas Underdown in his translation of "Ethiopian History of Heliodorus". "There is no man so stoany-harted, but he shal be made to yeelde with our flatteringe allurmentes". Later, in 1596, Shakespeare used it in a soliloquy by Falstaff in his play "Henry IV", changing the spelling to read stony-hearted.

From Quiz Body Language

Answer: foot

From Quiz Give Me a Hand

Answer: Assistance

A used item, passed along to someone else, is a hand-me-down. A delay is a hold up. A mistake is a foul up. No hands involved, idiomatically speaking, in these last two occurrences.

From Quiz The Cold Shoulder

Answer: Fingers

It was said in olden days that if a witch crossed your path, you should make the sign of a cross with your hands and it would ward off evil spirits and bring good luck. I will cross my fingers to bring you luck in getting all the questions correct in this quiz.

From Quiz It's in Your Mind or Your Face

Answer: face

"Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships, And burnt the topless towers of Ilium? Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss." This quotation comes from the play 'Doctor Faustus' (Act V, scene 1) as Faust addresses the ghost of Helen of Troy, who he has summoned up. Helen, a well-known beauty, was married to Menelaus, and all her many previous suitors had sworn to support him should he ever need their help. Paris chose Aphrodite as the most beautiful goddess in a contest between her, Athena and Hera, because she promised him the most beautiful woman in the world as his wife. He proceeded to abduct Helen of Sparta, and carry her off to Troy. According to Homer, the Greeks raised a fleet of over a thousand ships to sail to Troy and get her back, starting the Trojan War that led to the destruction of Troy.

From Quiz Can You 'Face' The Truth?

Answer: face his accuser

The 6th Amendment to the US constitution contains the confrontation clause where the 'accused' has the right to face witnesses against him in person. The commission of murder precludes the victim from being any thing but a mute witness represented only by the testimony of prosecution witnesses.

From Quiz All About Hands

Answer: cradle

This is a proverb, with all of a proverb's strengths and potential 'meanings." It expresses the idea that the greatest power overall is the power of raising and maintaining the next generation. This version of the phrase has been attributed to William Ross Wallace in 1896: "A mightier power and stronger Man from his throne has hurled / For the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world." Wallace also wrote an 1865 poem called "What Rules the World" with this phrase in it. Glen Campbell and Steve Wariner sang "Hand That Rocks the Cradle."

From Quiz All About Heart

Answer: strings

The question was, I hope, obvious. Originally, it was thought that the heart was held in place by tendons or nerves. So, to pull at one's heartstrings implies tugging at the strings which hold your heart in place. Nerves do play an important part in the functioning of the heart. The vagus and sympathetic nerve systems are vital to normal heart rhythm, among other things.

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